[froz]

I've been living with a Boxee Box for awhile and while I like it, it's becoming inconvenient. There is either an awful memory leak or something just goofy that requires me to reboot it daily and now that I lost the remote, it's a deal breaker On top of that I've been trying to run SAB, SB, and CP from the little 2Bay 1TB RAID 1 NAS (mv5281 500mhz ARM and 128MB RAM) and it's been a struggle tuning the system. I love the Synology NAS but it just can't keep up anymore. I've been having to pause my downloads in order to have perfect streaming..

So here comes the switch. Basically I'm just excited and looking for some advice on where to start, any pre-gotchas, etc. We've been detached from cable for quite some time and the wife is dependent upon my geeky skills so the smoother transition the less grief I'll get for spending all this dough.

So here's the HTPC Setup:
-nMEDIAPC Black Aluminum / Acrylic / Steel HTPC 5000B Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6811204035
-ASRock H77M LGA 1155 Intel H77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6813157303
-Intel Core i3-3225 Ivy Bridge 3.3GHz LGA 1155 55W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I33225
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6819116774
-PC Power and Cooling Silencer MK III 400W Modular 80PLUS Bronze Power Supply compatible with Intel Sandy Bridge Core i3 i5 ...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6817703034
-G.SKILL Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C9D-8GAB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6820231546

I'll be re-using some hard drives at first until I figure out exactly what I want to do.

The other particulars:
-Samsung LN52B750
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-LN52B750-5...B001VKY7WU
-Harmony One Remote
http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Harmony-A...armony+one
-IR Receiver from VRC-1100
http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=VRC-1100
-Synology DS207+
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6822108011
-Pioneer VSX-1019AH-K 7-Channel A/V Receiver (Black)
http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-VSX-1019AH...B001UADEPC
-Terk HDTVa Indoor Amplified High-Definition Antenna for Off-Air HDTV Reception
http://www.amazon.com/Terk-Amplified-Hig...al+antenna


How it'll be setup/used:
-Wired Networking only
-Single HDMI to Receiver
-Probably windows 7 day one but may like to go to Win 8. Might be more friendly for this type of a setup.
-Keep all media on NAS and stream through HTPC (that's the thought now anyhow)
-Default TV quality is 720p
-Movies in 1080p
-Steaming music
-No netfilx or Hulu, but perhaps amazon videon on demand since I have prime (another anger with Boxee)

Concerns:
-Sound in living room must be kept to a minimum. I know I should have probably have chosen reduced components but maybe I'll still be able to figure something out. I'm a "fan" of large and low spinning fans. We'll see how that works. I have no qualms about modding that case.
-It's going to be an a semi-enclosed (open faced) entertainment center. So heat is the flipside concern with sound.
-Remote Control signal from 10ft away and power on/off into s5 (looks doable)
-Remote Control/keyboard for basic web surfing. (looking into one of those Air things? http://www.amazon.com/Koolertron-2-4GHz-...koolertron thoughts?)
-I don't have a TV Tuner card in there for the antenna. Wonder if that would just be more to support than necessary or something that I should be looking into. Now sure how to PVR that stuff or how I could easily switch to TV. Right now I just use the harmony to go to the cable setup.


Advice is appreciated. It's all ordered so unless something is egregious, that's the kit. If it doesn't work out, it's the wife's next PC

Thanks!
Froz

[wsume99]

First off I'd suggest you investigate getting a 120w picoPSU to replace your PSU. It's totally silent and eliminates a fan and a heat source from the case. It will cost you a little more but it will be worth it.

For a tuner, if you're just running OTA then you can look into a HD Homerun network tuner. Again, this will remove a component from the case and make it cooler which means quieter.

If you're going to record and watch Live TV then you should plan on using WMC. From what I've read the PVR on XBMC is still a PITA. I have a Harmony and switching between WMC and XBMC is pretty easy. My wife and kids can handle it so it must not be too hard.

This is probably herecy on this forum but AVS Forums is another good source for HTPC build info. You can find TONS of info about setting up WMC over there.

[Kirky99]

I don't see any real problems... Not sure if you really need that much memory, but it won't hurt. What I've done is created a RAMDisk for my timeshifting files used by the MediaPortal TV server. Not sure if it's necessary, but I've got slower drives in my TV server so I figured it would help.

PVR n XBMC is still in beta. Depending on my client, I've had success and failure. All my Windows based PCs seem to work well with my config. OpenELEC clients are hit or miss (seems like it depends on the weather).

I'm not sure if I would make your primary HTPC a TV server, unless that's the only place you ever plan on integrating TV within XBMC. I tried that, and having that PC on all the time seemed like a waste. I have since moved all my always on services to my file server (not a NAS) and all cleints go into standby when not in use. Works better overall.

[froz]

Looks like I got bounced to the hardware forum. Hopefully that doesn't limit the amount of responses. I'm very interested in software configuration, tools, add-ons, etc.

Thanks!

---

First off I'd suggest you investigate getting a 120w picoPSU to replace your PSU. It's totally silent and eliminates a fan and a heat source from the case. It will cost you a little more but it will be worth it.

For a tuner, if you're just running OTA then you can look into a HD Homerun network tuner. Again, this will remove a component from the case and make it cooler which means quieter.

If you're going to record and watch Live TV then you should plan on using WMC. From what I've read the PVR on XBMC is still a PITA. I have a Harmony and switching between WMC and XBMC is pretty easy. My wife and kids can handle it so it must not be too hard.

This is probably herecy on this forum but AVS Forums is another good source for HTPC build info. You can find TONS of info about setting up WMC over there.

Do you think 120w is enough to run that? It's probably a basic concept but I never really figured out how to size a PSU

[froz]

I don't see any real problems... Not sure if you really need that much memory, but it won't hurt. What I've done is created a RAMDisk for my timeshifting files used by the MediaPortal TV server. Not sure if it's necessary, but I've got slower drives in my TV server so I figured it would help.

PVR n XBMC is still in beta. Depending on my client, I've had success and failure. All my Windows based PCs seem to work well with my config. OpenELEC clients are hit or miss (seems like it depends on the weather).

I'm not sure if I would make your primary HTPC a TV server, unless that's the only place you ever plan on integrating TV within XBMC. I tried that, and having that PC on all the time seemed like a waste. I have since moved all my always on services to my file server (not a NAS) and all cleints go into standby when not in use. Works better overall.

yeah the memory is probably overkill but the cost delta was about 6 bux so *shrug*. I'll not have worries about extra RAM and maybe I can find a use for it someday. Thanks for the PVR tip. Right now it's such a rarity that we tune into regular TV. Basically only sports and I don't mind doing that. Is there a pass through option for an HTPC? I think the boxee did that.

[Kirky99]

Not sure if XBMC can access the HD Homerun streams directly anymore. Otherwise, I don't htink there's really a "pass through". I'm running a full blown TV Server with EPG, etc. Pain to configure at first, but then you just let it run. Only problem is when they change channels around.

My goal is to not have to leave XBMC. Simpler that way...

[Dougie Fresh]

Your build looks great. I have the nMediaPC 1000b and it's great.

Consider this PSU instead: SeaSonic SS-300ES Bronze 300W ATX12V V2.3 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply. It'll be more efficient (it's better sized to your components than 400W) and it's priced better.

[BORIStheBLADE]

So are you looking for another NAS or are you going to store all this media on the HTPC? That Synology NAS you linked to is the current one you own right?

[froz]

Not sure if XBMC can access the HD Homerun streams directly anymore. Otherwise, I don't htink there's really a "pass through". I'm running a full blown TV Server with EPG, etc. Pain to configure at first, but then you just let it run. Only problem is when they change channels around.

My goal is to not have to leave XBMC. Simpler that way...

I agree with trying to stay within a single app. It's too hard to control a full blow computer with a remote and I honestly don't want to be passing around a keyboard. I do have an HP Touchpad so perhaps that can acts a little bit. I love the MediaDog app to control sab/cp/sb .

---

So are you looking for another NAS or are you going to store all this media on the HTPC? That Synology NAS you linked to is the current one you own right?

The DS207+ is the one I own. I'll probably keep most of the media on there unless i have some sort of streaming issues. Assuming a 2MB/s write rate from Sab to the DS207+ and what ~1MB/s read rate for streams? Seems doable. If not, i'll have to figure either figure out a caching mechanism for the HTPC for downloads or move the more "volatile" stuff like TV to the HTPC itself. Pictures and music won't be taken off the NAS though. I love that thing and it's rock solid.

[froz]

Your build looks great. I have the nMediaPC 1000b and it's great.

Consider this PSU instead: SeaSonic SS-300ES Bronze 300W ATX12V V2.3 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply. It'll be more efficient (it's better sized to your components than 400W) and it's priced better.

Thanks for the feedback. I'm concerned about the nMediaPC and looks. Fingers are crossed

The SeaSonic looks good and you're right 300w is probably enough. The PSU I already ordered had a $20 rebate price wasn't too bad. Does the SeaSonic do ErP? I'm hoping with the thermally controlled fan as well as the very low load, that it doesn't sit at 400w constantly. I have a watt o meter somewhere that I'll have to test this out on. On a side note, I opted for an older momentum 7200rpm 250gb laptop sata disk. The power usage is awesome at like 1.5w.

---

I wonder if that CPU could be passively cooled..?

Does anyone use RAMdisks for SAB or other XMBC files? I'm going to have some left over in that beast.

[BORIStheBLADE]

Well I have one of the newer Synology 1 bay NAS and while streaming a blu-ray rip I never had any issues downloading or seeding torrents. The CPU and ram specs on yours is a bit low compared to the newer models

[froz]

Well I have one of the newer Synology 1 bay NAS and while streaming a blu-ray rip I never had any issues downloading or seeding torrents. The CPU and ram specs on yours is a bit low compared to the newer models

What model do you have? Man I love those things. with the added support from http://www.mertymade.com/syno/ http://synoblog.superzebulon.org/ and http://www.synocommunity.com/ you can really do a lot. Just up to what the proc and ram allow you to do .

I was missing python-yenc after I upgraded so I was able to lower my CPU load while downloading from SAB. Streaming and downloading was working well again but the boxee is still a frustration so i don't feel bad about upgrading.

[BORIStheBLADE]

I use the DS 111. http://www.synology.com/us/products/DS111/index.php I think there is a newer model too. I love this thing. I ran a FreeNas and Unraid NAS and like this the most. Even though it cost more I'm ok with that...